Safety meeting with PHMSA scheduled for June 17

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Safety meeting with PHMSA scheduled for June 17

PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) has agreed to host a listening session in Weymouth on June 17. This will be an important meeting, so we need to pack the room. The meeting will present community members with a space to raise their concerns and to ask questions. We encourage you to attend the event! Come with your questions and concerns. Many thanks to Congressman Lynch for making this meeting happen. We’re fortunate to have local reps who advocate for us.

You can read more about the meeting here: The Patriot Ledger - Hearing on compressor station safety set for June 17

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MassDEP Hearing on Waste Site Cleanup Revisions

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Representing Weymouth at the MassDEP hearing on proposed revisions to regulations about the who, what, where, why, and how of cleaning up toxics in our environment.

Representing Weymouth at the MassDEP hearing on proposed revisions to regulations about the who, what, where, why, and how of cleaning up toxics in our environment.

MassDEP has prepared revisions to their Massachusetts Contingency Plan ("MCP", 310 CMR 40.0000). The MCP relates to regulations governing the notification, assessment, cleanup and closure of oil and hazardous material disposal sites. You can read their proposed revisions here.

They held a public hearing today, May 23, to solicit input and comments on the proposed changes. FRRACS members attended and provided written and oral testimony. You can watch a video of the testimonies here.

Submit a public comment!

Comments can be submitted by email to bwsc.information@mass.gov or by mail to: Elizabeth Callahan, MassDEP, One Winter Street, Boston, 02108. The public comment period ends July 19, 2019. We need to make sure that the regulations are strengthened. Based on their current proposal, they intend to allow MORE pollution.  This is not acceptable.

More info here: https://www.mass.gov/lists/2019-proposed-mcp-revisions

Investigative reporting reveals MassDEP withheld data and now permit is in jeapardy

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Investigative reporting reveals MassDEP withheld data and now permit is in jeapardy

Last week, MassDEP released a new set of air quality data in the middle of our appeal hearing of Enbridge’s air quality quality plan approval. MassDEP released the new, 750+ page report the night before the hearing was scheduled to conclude. It was a really shocking event. MassDEP claimed that they received the report from the laboratory three days before (Monday, May 13) but waited until Thursday to send it out.

Itai Vardi covered DEP’s recent data dump in Desmog and how it connects to previous reporting. You can read it here: After DeSmog’s Revelations, Enbridge’s Weymouth Gas Facility Air Permit in Jeopardy.

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Presiding Officer grants 2-day extension for review of new AQ data

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Presiding Officer grants 2-day extension for review of new AQ data

DEP Presiding Officer announced today she will grant an extension to our review of the new air quality data. We now have until this Thursday, May 23 at 5:00 PM to submit testimony on the 759-page report. We want to thank Presiding Officer Rothchild for granting the extension, and the Fore River Delegation for sending a letter yesterday requesting an extension. Our expert witnesses and legal team are diligently reviewing the documents and preparing their response.

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Presiding Officer threatens to place sanctions on DEP

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Presiding Officer threatens to place sanctions on DEP

The past week has been a rollercoaster! It’s been just three days since the DEP dumped a new set of data on us. And today we learned that Presiding Officer Jane Rothchild is considering posing sanctions on the DEP in response to their unethical move. She states, “The Department’s delay in disclosing the data to the other parties to the appeal until after the close of business on May 16, 2019, is unacceptable and may warrant the imposition of sanctions against the Department pursuant to 310 CMR 1.01.” She has requested the Department reply to a set a questions by 5 PM tomorrow, May 22. The DEP must inform her of when they first received the data, who received the data, why they waited so long to send it, and did they share the data with Enbridge before sharing it with the petitioners.

You can read more here: Weymouth News - Air quality data for Enbridge questioned (link)

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GB PSR Call for Baker Governor Baker to Extend Air Quality Appeal

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GB PSR Call for Baker Governor Baker to Extend Air Quality Appeal

Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility (GBPSR) released a press release today calling on Governor Baker to extend the air quality appeal for the Weymouth compressor station.

We can’t thank GB PSR enough for their advocacy on this issue. They continue to use their voice, expertise, and platform to fight for the health of our community. We are grateful to have their support. You can read their full press release here.

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Breaking: DEP releases new AQ data two days into hearing

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Breaking: DEP releases new AQ data two days into hearing

Around 6 pm last night, the parties in the air quality permit appeal received an email from MassDEP about a new set of air quality data. The report was a whopping 759 pages. The email stated that they had received the data from the lab that they worked with — Alpha Analytical — on Monday evening, but were only sending it out to parties on Thursday. This was a shocking moment.

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Air Quality Hearing - Day 2 Recap

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Air Quality Hearing - Day 2 Recap

We wrapped up the second day of our air quality appeal hearing day today. What a day it was! It’s amazing how exhausting these hearings can be. We finished Enbridge’s cross-examination of the petitioner’s witnesses (Weymouth, Braintree, and FRRACS) and began cross-examination of Enbridge’s witnesses. Read on for a summer of today’s testimonies.

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Air Quality Hearing - Day 1 Recap

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Air Quality Hearing - Day 1 Recap

The moment that we have been waiting for is officially here. Our lawyers and expert witnesses have spent a lot of time preparing for the hearing on our appeal of Enbridge’s air quality permit. We honestly can’t thank our incredible team enough for all that they’ve put into this fight. Today was really intense! Our witnesses held nothing back, and it was quite clear that Enbridge’s lawyers were not prepared. There were some really amazing exchanges, including Nathan Phillips calling out DEP’s unethical moves. We will have video footage of everything soon. Read more for a complete recap on the day’s testimonies.

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Mothers out Front confront Baker at the airport

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Mothers out Front confront Baker at the airport

Governor Baker can run but he can’t hide! We know Baker does not want to speak with his constituents. He has made that very clear. But that doesn’t mean we are going to let him off the hook. It’s time for the Governor to listen to his constituents and actually do something to address climate issues in this state. He continues to throw the compressor station issue into other people’s hands, but he has power over this issue. We’re really glad folks from Mothers out Front were able to catch him at the airport today. He looked so pleased!

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